Sevens dream comes true for Hong Kong kids Raef Morrison and Max Woodward
Debutants will be in Sevens heaven after a dizzying few months
There's only two new faces in Hong Kong's men's squad, but they're no strangers to the tournament.
Max Woodward and Raef Morrison are born-and-bred Hongkongers, who as kids chucked balls around the Hong Kong Stadium pitch during the event's mini rugby showcases.
In a dizzying past few months, their dreams of playing in it for real began to appear possible.
Woodward, 23, only returned to the city in August for an internship after university; that same month, Morrison, 18, was thrown into the senior squad as he began his gap year. Both are now full-time professional players, plans of business or backpacking happily abandoned.
"It's been a crazy experience, I didn't expect any of it," says HKFC prop Morrison, who like Woodward went to West Island School. "It's just a dream - I can't think of anything better to do in my gap year than play rugby full time.
"[Playing at the Sevens] is something I've always dreamed of - I've been going since I was two, so I get goosebumps now thinking about it; just standing in the tunnel, with your family and friends and your peers supporting you as you run on.